Oh the Talent..

Tonight we got to see our kids' talent in the Primary Talent Show. Abby played the top part of a duet of "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" I was supposed to accompany her, but was informed just prior to her performing that she would rather do it alone. I wasn't sure if I should feel upset or not. She did an awesome job though. She is getting to be quite accomplished and does well performing in front of others. Kaleb's talent was cookies. He came home from school today and made "Dipped Gingersnaps." I helped only in that I cracked the eggs and made a million little balls of dough to get ready to bake. I had to laugh at a comment that Kaleb made while cooking. We were talking about making mistakes and how a small one can ruin whatever it is that you are making. He says to me, "Well, Mom, it is OK that I make mistakes because I am a work in progress." Kaleb has had a talent his whole life in that he has these very adult words and phrases that just pop out at the correct time and make so much sense. He just tickles me sometimes with his wit.

My kids have great talents and I am so glad that I get to watch and see what comes next. We are all works in progress. Don't I know it.

Six Random Things About Me..

I saw this tag a while ago from my friend Viki and then again from Annie so I thought I would try it for myself. So here goes..

1. I think that ice should be it's own food group. My favorite treat is a full glass of crushed ice from the hospital (good thing I work there) with Diet Coke over the top. I will eat enough ice that my body temperature drops so low that I am shivering.

2. I have an almost obsession with lip gloss. If I don't watch myself, I will buy one from every store I go to. Pink, of course, is best as that is my favorite color.

3. When I cook I like to imagine myself a great chef and will try to cut/dice things like the pros. Luckily I haven't removed any fingers yet. I am a good cook though - even if I do say so myself.

4. I am willing to try anything at least once: strange food, weird outfits ( in the dressing room only), and crazy carnival rides. Things that I have surprisingly liked are the raw tuna appetizer from PF Changs and the Screamer from Disneyland. You will still never catch me in bell bottoms though.

5. I have been married to the same man for almost 14 years. I say that as being strange because where I work that is definitely an oddity. And I still even like him - well, most of the time. Ha, Ha. He really is great - he even carries lip gloss in his pocket for me so that I will have some no matter where we are.

6. I have worked in Labor and Delivery for almost 5 years, and I still have to choke back tears when a new little spirit enters the world. Sometimes I am more emotional than Mom and I have to step out to wipe away the tears. No matter what, it is a beautiful moment.

All is safely gathered in..

Abigail got back from Mallo Camp yesterday. She was so full of news about all her adventures. She loved it, and wishes she could go again. I was thrilled to hear of all her fun adventures, and just as thrilled to have her home once again. A hymn came to mind last night as I checked on all my sleeping "chicks" before going to bed. There is a line in Come, Ye Thankful People Come that just echoed in my mind "all is safely gathered in." The next stanza is e're the winter storms begin - I am not ready for that, but I still know that all is well when we are all together. The times that we are all together seem to get farther apart as activities and schedules keep us going. Chad left this morning at 6am for a scouting activity so tonight I will be able to once again think, "all is safely gathered in." I am thankful for my family and that we can be together forever.

My Favorite Camper-girl off to Camp

Abby left for Mallo Camp this morning. She was so excited to be heading off on her own for a few days. Mallo Camp is an "Environmental Educational Experience" offered by our school district for all 5th graders. This is the highlight of the 5th grade year, and she has been so excited and looking forward to it. Weighed down with her 35lb backpack fully equipped with anything and everything possibly needed to be prepared for our crazy Wyoming weather, she happily left Mom for camp. Can you believe it? I will miss my favorite Camper-girl.

Drumstick, Gravy, Nugget, and all the rest

Many of our friends have asked us to send pics of our chickens. We decided to get chickens to see if it was cost effective to raise our own birds for the eggs and meat. We also wanted to have a use for some of our 14 acres of land that we moved onto last year, also giving some responsibilities to our kids. Well, here is our coop that my husband built for me to house the chickens. We have been told it's the Taj Mahal of coops, but I love it. Brian worked on it all summer while the chicks got big in the garage. He used all the "leftovers" from our house, so it matches. The windows are from my mom's house, as we replaced hers this summer. We hung our antique tools from my grandpa on the back and the run faces the southern sun. Our chickens love their home, and have even tried to be "free range" when the kids have left the door open. As for the cost effective part- it remains to be seen, but we are also trying to raise our kids too and is there a cost limit on that?

Where to Start? Today!

This week started out with a bang as after church we came home to find all our boxes of peaches ripe (nearing too ripe) and ready to can. So we did a family home evening with our kids and discussed being self sufficient and the benefit of food storage. So does this count even though I was canning on Sunday? 67 quarts later we have some beautiful peaches to look at. Now that they are all done and so pretty on the shelf, I don't want to eat them. My husband has harrassed me for years that I can't eat what I have canned. I do have a hard time eating the food in the pretty jars on the shelf. As my husband says, "it was not put there to look at." I heard an old wives tale from years back that supports my thoughts however, and it is that you are not allowed to eat the new food until after Thanksgiving. This is to encourage you to finish the old food and rotate what you have. That will give me a little more time to enjoy my "pretty jars".